Pilot Project Module - Research Skills Development

Students are required to attend and participate in all the formal scheduled sessions for the module. Students are also expected to manage their directed learning and independent study in support of the module.

The Pilot Project module builds on concepts delivered across the Masters degree in technical and research areas, and is designed to develop the student’s research skills by undertaking a pilot study which will then lead onto a larger scale study in the Research Project module.  

The module focuses on the identification of a core field for a research project, and undertaking the background research in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the subject area.  From this background the student will develop a research question and undertake a pilot to generate preliminary data for analysis, leading to a conclusion in which the student uses the analysis of the dataset to formulate a hypothesis for larger scale testing in the Research Project.  

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of the module, students should be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

K1 Deploy systematic and in-depth understanding of existing knowledge and practice within a specialised subject area or field.

K2 Engage effectively with ideas, practices and methods at the forefront of the subject or profession and explore the boundaries of existing knowledge or current practice and potential developments.

Cognitive Skills

C1 Independently and critically synthesise, analyse and evaluate complex information, ideas, data or propositions that may be incomplete or contradictory and that include aspects of new knowledge or cutting-edge practice.

C2 Demonstrate initiative in designing approaches and methodologies to address complex problems, both abstract and practical, and show some originality in the solutions or conclusions reached and their justification.

P1 Display expertise and autonomy in conducting advanced and specialised practical, technical, creative, work-based or research tasks to a professional or equivalent level.

P2 Exercise judgement to make decisions in highly complex and unpredictable situations, arguing or substantiating decisions convincingly.

Transferable and Key Skills

T1 Work autonomously and self-critically, reflectively evaluating own performance and that of others through awareness of professional requirements and expectations.

T2 Engage confidently and competently in academic and professional communication with others, including communicating the results of research or professional practice innovations to peers.

The underlying areas of study follow on from those covered in the Research Methods module.  Here they are applied to a research project specific to the student’s particular interests.

Knowledge and Understanding

Research types and concepts:  Exploratory, Descriptive, Analytical and Predictive types of research.   

The application of Basic, Applied, Inductive, Deductive, Quantitative and Qualitative approaches to specifically identified research questions.

Identifying appropriate sources of information.  Use of library and online databases in order to collect high quality and relevant information for a specified project.  Using Citation styles and standards.

Quantitative and numerical research: Descriptive and analytical surveys, Experimental Studies, Longitudinal Studies, Cross-sectional Studies.  Experimental design.

The pilot project is conducted largely by independent learning. However, each student receives a thorough grounding in research planning and research methodologies through the skills developed both directly in the Research Methods module but also in each of the taught modules.

Each student is allocated two Project Supervisors. The first supervisor will be from a subject area appropriate to that of the project, and provide subject specific supervision. The second supervisor will have a wider role of maintaining an overview of the research process. As such the second supervisor does not need to be a subject specialist, but will normally be an experienced researcher with a recognised research qualification. The supervisory team will be appointed by the Project Co-ordinator during the Pilot Project module, in consultation with each student and the senior academic with responsibility for staffing.

Meetings between Project Supervisors and the student will be arranged as and when they are deemed necessary, but it is likely that the student will meet with one or more supervisors at least once every two-three weeks. Supervisions may make use of video conferencing and online collaboration tools. Each student will also be encouraged to use the guidance of the wider course team.

Projects conducted in conjunction with external organisations are seen as being of immense benefit both to the student and to the organisation concerned.

Every encouragement and assistance will be given to students to publish aspects of their work within professional journals providing agreement can be reached with the student’s employer, if applicable.

ASSESSMENT STRATEGY

The assessment strategy reflects professional and academic practice at Masters level, in which the student project leads towards a significant piece of academic output in the form of a thesis.   This work will draw on a range of skills developed throughout the course, and the student is expected to undertake a professional level of project management, utilising project metrics and self-reflection throughout, supported by regular tutor meetings.

The core element of this pilot project module requires the student to identify a research question to investigate, and then to undertake a pilot study in which they investigate a limited dataset to form preliminary conclusions, and a hypothesis which will require further, more comprehensive testing in the main research project.

Once the project topic and research question have been identified, the first part of the assessment requires the student to undertake a comprehensive literature survey, in which they investigate the underlying theory and background of the problem, and examine approaches taken by other researchers to solve similar or related problems.  This will be submitted as a report within the first 4 weeks of the module.

The second part of the assessment requires the student to undertake pilot testing on a small dataset.  This will allow the student to determine appropriate methodology, gain preliminary results and analyse the results to determine conclusions.  In particular, this pilot analysis will be used to develop a hypothesis for testing on a larger scale as part of the larger research project module.    This will be written up in the form of a report, submitted at or shortly after the end of the module, at which point the student will move onto their research project module.

Aggregation of marks 

The marks for each element of assessment will be aggregated to give an overall mark for the module.

Re-assessment Arrangements 

Students will undertake re-assessment in the University re-assessment period.  Re-assessment will require the student to undertake the work again to meet the required standard, addressing methodological problems and determining a new research question.